Policy Update: Infant Health, Physical Education in Schools and More

By Deborah Backman, MPH Candidate, Department of Health Policy and Management, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health

To increase awareness of children’s health and wellness initiatives, Phipps' Let’s Move Pittsburgh project provides Policy Update, a monthly column on local, state and national health policies that impact you.

Local: A study recently conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh found that obesity in mothers is strongly linked to increased risk of infant death. The study looked at Pennsylvania infant death records by the mother’s weight and found that infant risk of death increased if the mother was overweight or obese. Dr. Hyagriv Simhan, chief of maternal-fetal medicine at Magee Womens Hospital of UPMC, noted this is particularly concerning because obesity has increased dramatically over the past few decades. Dr. Lisa Bodnar, the main study author, argued that towns and cities need to invest in creating healthy environments where people can walk and access healthy food in order to lower obesity in mothers. Check out the Post-Gazette article and research study for more details.

State: The Society of Health and Physical Education (SHAPE) recently released a report on current physical education in every U.S. state. Similarly, to most other states, SHAPE reported that Pennsylvania requires students to take physical education in each of grades K-12, but there are no rules on the number of minutes of P.E. students must complete. Pennsylvania students can only be excused from required P.E. for medical reasons, but the PE. program must be adapted for these students who cannot participate in the regular program. Pennsylvania does not require daily recess or classroom physical activity breaks, and does not require minimum weekly physical activity time for any grade level. Read the full report for more details.

National: In January, many unemployed or underemployed adults ages 18 – 50 lost Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits due to a federal law. In the 1990s, the federal government passed a law limiting unemployed or underemployed adults between ages 18 – 50 who were not disabled, pregnant, or raising minor children to three months of SNAP benefits in a two-year period. However, the law has only recently taken effect because many states were previously excused from the legislation due to high unemployment. According to state figures and Just Harvest, a local anti-hunger organization, 48,000 Pennsylvanians and 9,500 Allegheny County residents could lose benefits by June 1. This law could have negative impacts on child health because some research has shown that if a mother receives food stamps, her child is less likely to become obese or develop high blood pressure, heart disease, or diabetes. Read a report about the rule for more information.

Sources:
Pennsylvania nonprofits work to help those facing food stamp restrictions - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Long-Term Benefits of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - Executive Office of the President